Method of designing external defibrillator waveforms

ABSTRACT

A method for determining an optimal transchest external defibrillation waveform which, when applied through a plurality of electrodes positioned on a patient&#39;s torso will produce a desired response in the patient&#39;s cardiac cell membranes. The method includes the steps of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing external defibrillation waveforms, the quantitative model of a patient includes a chest component, a heart component, a cell membrane component and a quantitative description of the desired cardiac membrane response function. Finally, a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation waveform that will produce the desired cardiac membrane response function is computed. The computation is made as a function of the desired cardiac membrane response function, the patient model and the defibrillator circuit model.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/015,343, filed Apr. 12, 1996 entitled METHOD OF DESIGNING EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR WAVEFORMS, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference and priority back to the Apr. 12, 1996 filing date is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to an electrotherapy method and apparatus for delivering an electrical pulse to a patient's heart. In particular, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for creating an electrical waveform delivered by an external defibrillator based on theory and practice as described herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Devices for defibrillating a heart have been known for sometime now. Implantable defibrillators are well accepted by the medical community as effective tools to combat fibrillation for an identified segment of the population. A substantial amount of research in fibrillation and the therapy of defibrillation has been done. Much of the most recent research has concentrated on understanding the effects that a defibrillation shock pulse has on fibrillation to terminate such a condition.

A monophasic waveform is defined to be a single phase, capacitive-discharge, time-truncated, waveform with exponential decay. A biphasic waveform is defined to comprise two monophasic waveforms, separated by time and of opposite polarity. The first phase is designated φ₁ and the second phase is designated φ₂. The delivery of φ₁ is completed before the delivery of φ₂ is begun.

After extensive testing, it has been determined that biphasic waveforms are more efficacious than monophasic waveforms. There is a wide debate regarding the reasons for the increased efficacy of biphasic waveforms over that of a monophasic waveforms. One hypothesis holds that φ₁ defibrillates the heart and φ₂ performs a stabilizing action that keeps the heart from refibrillating.

Biphasic defibrillation waveforms are now the standard of care in clinical use for defibrillation with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), due to the superior performance demonstrated over that of comparable monophasic waveforms. To better understand these significantly different outcomes, ICD research has developed cardiac cell response models to defibrillation. Waveform design criteria have been derived from these first principles and have been applied to monophasic and biphasic waveforms to optimize their parameters. These principles-based design criteria have produced significant improvements over the current art of waveforms.

In a two paper set, Blair developed a model for the optimal design of a monophasic waveform when used for electrical stimulation. (1) Blair, H. A., "On the Intensity-time relations for stimulation by electric currents." I. J. Gen. Physiol. 1932; 15: 709-729. (2) Blair, H. A., "On the Intensity-time Relations for stimulation by electric currents". II. J. Gen. Physiol. 1932; 15: 731-755. Blair proposed and demonstrated that the optimal duration of a monophasic waveform is equal to the point in time at which the cell response to the stimulus is maximal. Duplicating Blair's model, Walcott extended Blair's analysis to defibrillation, where they obtained supporting experimental results. Walcott, et al., "Choosing the optimal monophasic and biphasic waveforms for ventricular defibrillation." J. Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 1995; 6: 737-750.

Independently, Kroll developed a biphasic model for the optimal design of φ₂ for a biphasic defibrillation waveform. Kroll, M. W., "A minimal model of the single capacitor biphasic defibrillation waveform." PACE 1994; 17:1782-1792. Kroll proposed that the φ₂ stabilizing action removed the charge deposited by φ₁ from those cells not stimulated by φ₁. This has come to be known as "charge burping". Kroll supported his hypothesis with retrospective analysis of studies by Dixon, et al., Tang, et al., and Freese, et al. regarding single capacitor, biphasic waveform studies. Dixon, et al., "Improved defibrillation thresholds with large contoured epicardial electrodes and biphasic waveforms." Circulation 1987; 76:1176-1184; Tang, et al. "Ventricular defibrillation using biphasic waveforms: The Importance of Phasic duration." J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 1989; 13:207-214; and Feeser, S. A., et al. "Strength-duration and probability of success curves for defibrillation with biphasic waveforms." Circulation 1990; 82: 2128-2141. Again, the Walcott group retrospectively evaluated their extension of Blair's model to φ₂ using the Tang and Feeser data sets. Their finding further supported Kroll's hypothesis regarding biphasic defibrillation waveforms. For further discussions on the development of these models, reference may be made to PCT publications WO 95/32020 and WO 95/09673 and to U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,686.

The charge burping hypothesis can be used to develop equations that describe the time course of a cell's membrane potential during a biphasic shock pulse. At the end of φ₁, those cells that were not stimulated by φ₁ have a residual charge due to the action of φ₁ on the cell. The charge burping model hypothesizes that an optimal pulse duration for φ₂ is that duration that removes as much of the φ₁ residual charge from the cell as possible. Ideally, these unstimulated cells are set back to "relative ground." The charge burping model proposed by Kroll is based on the circuit model shown in FIG. 2b which is adapted from the general model of a defibrillator illustrated in FIG. 2a.

The charge burping model also accounts for removing the residual cell membrane potential at the end of a φ₁ pulse that is independent of a φ₂. That is, φ₂ is delivered by a set of capacitors separate from the set of capacitors used to deliver φ₁. This charge burping model is constructed by adding a second set of capacitors, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this figure, C₁ represents the φ₁ capacitor set, C₂ represents the φ₂ capacitor set R_(H) represents the resistance of the heart, and the pair C_(M) and R_(M) represent membrane series capacitance and resistance of a single cell. The node V_(s) represents the voltage between the electrodes, while V_(M) denotes the voltage across the cell membrane.

External defibrillators send electrical pulses to the patient's heart through electrodes applied to the patient's torso. External defibrillators are useful in any situation where there may be an unanticipated need to provide electrotherapy to a patient on short notice. The advantage of external defibrillators is that they may be used on a patient as needed, then subsequently moved to be used with another patient.

However, this important advantage has two fundamental limitations. First, external defibrillators do not have direct contact with the patient's heart. External defibrillators have traditionally delivered their electrotherapeutic pulses to the patient's heart from the surface of the patient's chest. This is known as the transthoracic defibrillation problem. Second, external defibrillators must be able to be used on patients having a variety of physiological differences. External defibrillators have traditionally operated according to pulse amplitude and duration parameters that can be effective in all patients. This is known as the patient variability problem.

The prior art described above effectively models implantable defibrillators, however it does not fully addressed the transthoracic defibrillation problem nor the patient variability problem. In fact, these two limitations to external defibrillators are not fully appreciated by those in the art. For example, prior art disclosures of the use of truncated exponential monophasic or biphasic shock pulses in implantable or external defibrillators have provided little guidance for the design of an external defibrillator that will successfully defibrillate across a large, heterogeneous population of patients. In particular, an implantable defibrillator and an external defibrillator can deliver a shock pulse of similar form, and yet the actual implementation of the waveform delivery system is radically different.

In the past five years, new research in ICD therapy has developed and demonstrated defibrillation models that provide waveform design rules from first principles. These defibrillation models and their associated design rules for the development of defibrillation waveforms and their characteristics were first developed by Kroll and Irnich for monophasic waveforms using effective and rheobase current concepts. (1) Kroll, M. W., "A minimal model of the monophasic defibrillation pulse." PACE 1993; 15: 769. (2) Irnich, W., "Optimal truncation of defibrillation pulses." PACE 1995; 18: 673. Subsequently, Kroll, Walcott, Cleland and others developed the passive cardiac cell membrane response model for monophasic and biphasic waveforms, herein called the cell response model. (1) Kroll, M. W., "A minimal model of the single capacitor biphasic defibrillation waveform." PACE 1994; 17: 1782. (2) Walcott, G. P., Walker, R. G., Cates. A. W., Krassowska, W., Smith, W. M, Ideker R E. "Choosing the optimal monophasic and biphasic waveforms for ventricular defibrillation." J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1995; 6:737; and Cleland B G. "A conceptual basis for defibrillation waveforms." PACE 1996; 19:1186).

A significant increase in the understanding of waveform design has occurred and substantial improvements have been made by using these newly developed design principles. Block et al. has recently written a comprehensive survey of the new principles-based theories and their impact on optimizing internal defibrillation through improved waveforms. Block M, Breithardt G., "Optimizing defibrillation through improved waveforms." PACE 1995; 18:526.

There have not been significant developments in external defibrillation waveforms beyond the two basic monophasic waveforms: the damped sine or the truncated exponential. To date, their design for transthoracic defibrillation has been based almost entirely on empirically derived data. It seems that the design of monophasic and biphasic waveforms for external defibrillation has not yet been generally influenced by the important developments in ICD research.

Recently there has been reported research on the development and validation of a biphasic truncated exponential waveform in which it was compared clinically to a damped sine waveform. For additional background, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,593,427, 5,601,612 and 5,607,454. See also: Gliner B E, Lyster T E, Dillon S M, Bardy G H, "Transthoracic defibrillation of swine with monophasic and biphasic waveforms." Circulation 1995; 92:1634-1643; Bardy G H, Gliner B E, Kudenchuk P J, Poole J E, Dolack G L, Jones G K, Anderson J, Troutman C, Johnson G.; "Truncated biphasic pulses for transthoracic defibrillation." Circulation 1995; 91:1768-1774; and Bardy G H et al, "For the Transthoracic Investigators. Multicenter comparison of truncated biphasic shocks and standard damped sine wave monophasic shocks for transthoracic ventricular defibrillation." Circulation 1996; 94:2507-2514. Although the research determined a usable biphasic waveform, there was no new theoretical understanding determined for external waveform design. It appears that external waveform research may develop a "rules-of-thumb by trial and error" design approach much like that established in the early stages of theoretical ICD research. The noted limitations of the transthoracic biphasic waveform may be due in part to a lack of principles-based design rules to determine its waveform characteristics.

Monophasic defibrillation waveforms remain the standard of care in clinical use for transthoracic defibrillation. Waveform design has not yet been influenced by the important gains made in ICD research. The limitations of present transthoracic waveforms may be due in part to a lack of application of these design principles to determine optimal waveform characteristics. To overcome these limitations, design principles and design rules based on cell response have recently been developed for external defibrillation waveforms. The transthoracic model incorporates elements into a cell response model that extends it to external defibrillation.

There is a continued need for an apparatus and methodology for accurately designing an external defibrillator waveform to optimally determine waveform characteristics for any type of external defibrillator waveform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an external defibrillation method and apparatus that addresses the limitations in the prior art. The present invention incorporates three singular practices that distinguish the practice of designing external defibrillators from the practice of designing implantable defibrillators. These practices are 1) designing multiphasic transthoracic shock pulse waveforms from principles based on cardiac electrophysiology, 2) designing multiphasic transthoracic shock pulse waveforms in which each phase of the waveform can be designed without implementation limitations placed on its charging and delivery means by such means for prior waveform phases, and 3) designing multiphasic transthoracic shock pulse waveforms to operate across a wide range of parameters determined by a large, heterogeneous population of patients.

In particular, the present invention provides for a method and apparatus for determining an optimal transchest external defibrillation waveform which, when applied through a plurality of electrodes positioned on a patient's torso will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes. The method includes the steps of determining and providing a quantitative description of the desired cardiac membrane response function. A quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing external defibrillation waveforms is then provided. Also provided is a quantitative model of a patient which includes a chest component, a heart component and a cell membrane component. Finally, a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation waveform that will produce the desired cardiac membrane response function is computed. The computation is made as a function of the desired cardiac membrane response function, the patient model and the defibrillator circuit model.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a and 1b are perspective views of an AED according to the present invention.

FIG. 2a is a very simplified defibrillator model.

FIG. 2b is a known monophasic defibrillation model.

FIG. 3 is a known biphasic defibrillation model.

FIG. 4 represents a monophasic or biphasic capacitive-discharge external defibrillation model according to the present invention.

FIG. 5a represents a monophasic capacitor-inductor external defibrillator model according to the present invention.

FIG. 5b represents an alternative embodiment of a biphasic capacitor-inductor external defibrillator model according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining an optimal transchest external defibrillation waveform which, when applied through a plurality of electrodes positioned on a patient's torso will provide a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membrane.

The apparatus of the present invention is an automated external defibrillator (AED) illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. FIG. 1a illustrates an AED 10, including a plastic case 12 with a carrying handle 14. A lid 16 is provided which covers an electrode compartment 18. An electrode connector 20, a speaker 22 and a diagnostic panel (not shown) are located on case 12 within electrode compartment 18. FIG. 1b illustrates AED 10 having a pair of electrodes 24 connected thereto. Electrodes 24 can be pre-connected to connector 20 and stored in compartment 18.

The operation of AED 10 is described briefly below. A rescue mode of AED 10 is initiated when lid 16 is opened to access electrodes 24. The opening of lid 16 is detected by AED 10 to effectively turn on the device. AED 10 then quickly runs a short test routine. After electrodes 24 have been placed on the patient, AED 10 senses patient specific parameters, such as impedance, voltage, current, charge or other measurable parameters of the patient. The patient specific parameters are then utilized in the design of optimal waveforms as will be described below.

If a shockable condition is detected through electrodes 24, a plurality of capacitors inside of AED 10 are charged from an energy source, typically a detachable battery pack. Based upon the patient specific parameters sensed, the duration and other characteristics of a discharge waveform are then calculated. The energy stored in AED 10 is then discharged to the patient through electrodes 24.

For a more detailed description of the physical structure of AED 10 or the process involved in sensing, charging, shocking and testing, reference should be made to applicants co-pending Application Ser. No. 08/512,441, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,571 filed Aug. 8, 1995 entitled AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR WITH SELF-TEST SYSTEM which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

In the present invention it is not assumed that both phases of a biphasic waveform are delivered using the same set of capacitors or that both phases of a biphasic waveform are delivered using the capacitor set in the same electrical configuration, although such an embodiment is considered within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Transthoracic defibrillation is generally performed by placing electrodes on the apex and anterior positions of the chest wall. With this electrode arrangement, nearly all current passing through the heart is conducted by the lungs and the equipotential surfaces pass through the myocardium normal to the electrode axis. The present invention uses the transthoracic charge burping model to develop design equations that describe the time course of a cell's membrane potential during a transthoracic biphasic shock pulse. These equations are then used to create equations that describe the design of monophasic and biphasic shock pulses for transchest defibrillation to optimize the design of φ₁ for defibrillating and the design of φ₂ for stabilizing. These optimizing shock pulse design equations are called design rules.

According to the present invention, the main series pathway for current is to pass through the chest wall, the lungs, and the heart. Additionally, there are two important shunting pathways in parallel with the current pathway through the heart. These shunting pathways must be taken into consideration. The lungs shunt current around the heart through a parallel pathway. The second shunting pathway is provided by the thoracic cage. The resistivity of the thoracic cage and the skeletal muscle structure is low when compared to lungs. The high resistivity of the lungs and the shunting pathways are characterizing elements of external defibrillation that distinguish the art from intracardiac defibrillation and implantable defibrillation technologies.

Therefore, in the transthoracic defibrillation model of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 4, there are several resistances in addition to those discussed for the charge burping model above. R_(S) represents the resistance of the defibrillation system, including the resistance of the defibrillation electrodes. R_(CW) and R_(LS) represent the resistances of the chest wall and the lungs, respectively, in series with resistance of the heart, R_(H). R_(TC) and R_(LP) represent the resistances of the thoracic cage and the lungs, respectively, in parallel with the resistance of the heart.

The design rules for external defibrillation waveforms are determined in three steps. In the first step, the transchest forcing function is determined. The transchest forcing function is the name that is given to the voltage that is applied across each cardiac cell during an external defibrillation shock. In the second step, the design equations for φ₁ of a shock pulse are determined. The design equations are the equations describing the cell's response to the φ₁ transchest forcing function, the equation describing the optimal φ₁ pulse duration, and the equation describing the optimal φ₁ capacitor. Therefore, step two relates the cell response to the action of a monophasic shock pulse or the first phase of a biphasic shock pulse. This relation is used to determine the optimal design rules and thereby design parameters for the implementation of this phase in an external defibrillator. It will be clear to those in the art that step two is not restricted to capacitor discharge shock pulses and their associated transchest forcing function. Another common implementation of an external defibrillator incorporates a damped sine wave for a shock pulse and can be either a monophasic or biphasic waveform. This type of external defibrillator is modeled by the circuits shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. In the third step, the design equations for φ₂ of a shock pulse are determined. The design equations are the equations describing the cell's response to the φ₂ transchest forcing function, the equation describing the optimal φ₂ pulse duration and the equation describing the optimal φ₂ capacitor. These design equations are employed to determine the optimal design rules and thereby design parameters of φ₂ of a biphasic shock pulse with respect to how the cell responds to the shock pulse. An important element of this invention is to provide shock pulse waveforms that are designed from a cardiac cell response model developed from first principles and that correctly determines the effects of the chest and its components on the ability of a shock pulse to defibrillate.

The transchest forcing function is determined by solving for the voltage found at node V₃ in FIG. 4. The transchest forcing function is derived by solving for V₃ using the following three nodal equations: ##EQU1## Equation 1 can be rewritten as ##EQU2## Rewriting equation 2, we have ##EQU3## By substituting equation 4B for V₁ into equation 4C, we can solve for V₂ as an expression of V_(S) and V₃ : ##EQU4## Now solving for V₃ as an expression of V_(S) and V_(M), equation 3 may be re-arranged as ##EQU5## Substituting equation 5 for V₂ into equation 7, we can solve for V₃ as an expression of V_(S) and V_(M) : ##EQU6## From equation 8 we define Ω_(M) to be: ##EQU7## From equation 8 we also define Q_(S) to be: ##EQU8## is the general transchest transfer function as shown in FIG. 4 or FIGS. 5a and 5b. Equation 14 incapsulates the transchest elements and their association between the forcing function V_(S) (which models a defibrillation circuit and the shock pulse) and the cell membrane voltage V_(M). Therefore, this completes the first step.

The variable V_(S) may now be replaced with a more specific description of the defibrillation circuitry that implements a shock pulse. For a first example, a monophasic time-truncated, capacitive-discharge circuit may be represented by V_(S) =V₁ e^(-t/)τ.sbsp.1, where V₁ is the leading-edge voltage for the shock pulse and τ₁ =RC₁, with R determined below.

As shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, a second example would be a monophasic damped sine wave circuit, represented by ##EQU9## where V₁ is the voltage on the charged capacitor C₁, τ_(C1) =RC₁ and τ_(L1) =L₁ /R. Every step illustrated below may be performed with this and other similar transchest forcing functions which represent defibrillator circuitry.

To proceed with step two, from FIG. 4, nodal analysis provides an equation for V_(M) : ##EQU10## Rearranging equation 15, we have ##EQU11## Next, substituting equation 14 as an expression for V₃ into equation 16, the cell membrane response is now calculated as follows: ##EQU12## Dividing through by C_(M), and setting τ_(M) =R_(M) C_(M), then equation 18 becomes ##EQU13##

Equation 19 is a general ordinary differential equation (ODE) that models the effects of any general forcing function V_(S) that represents a phase of a shock pulse waveform applied across the chest. The general ODE equation 19 models the effects of a general shock pulse phase V_(S) on the myocardium, determining cardiac cell response to such a shock pulse phase.

In the equations given below:

C₁ equals the capacitance of the first capacitor bank and V_(S) =V₁ e^(-t/)τ.sbsp.1 ;

C₂ equals the capacitance of the second capacitor bank and V_(S) =V₂ e^(-t/)τ.sbsp.2 ;

R=R_(S) +R_(B), where R_(S) =System impedance (device and electrodes);

R_(B) =body impedance (thoracic cage, chest wall, lungs (series, parallel), heart).

To determine body impedance, R_(B), we see that the series combination of R_(H) and R_(LS) yields R_(H) +R_(LS). (FIG. 4). The parallel combination of R_(H) +R_(LS) and R_(LP) yields: ##EQU14## The series combination of equation 20 and R_(CW) yields: ##EQU15## The parallel combination of equation 21 and R_(TC) yields: ##EQU16## where R_(B) is the impedance of the body for this model.

The discharge of a single capacitor is modeled by V_(S) =V₁ e^(-t/)τ.sbsp.1 for an initial C₁ capacitor voltage of V₁. Placing V_(S) into equation 19 gives: ##EQU17## where τ_(M) =R_(M) C_(M) represents the time constant of the myocardial cell in the circuit model, and τ₁, which equals R_(S) C₁, represents the time constant of φ₁. Such a standard linear ODE as equation 23 has the form dy/dx+P(X) Y=Q(x). These linear ODEs have an integration factor that equals e.sup.∫pdx. The general solution to such equations is:

    Y=e.sup.-∫pdx  ∫e.sup.∫pdx Qdx+c!.

The ODE in equation 23 models the effects of each phase of a time-truncated, capacitor-discharged shock pulse waveform. Equation 23 is a first-order linear ODE, and may be solved using the method of integration factors, to get: ##EQU18## Equation 24 is an expression of cell membrane potential during φ₁ of a shock pulse. To determine the constant of integration k, the initial value of V_(M1) is assumed to be V_(M1) (0)=V_(G) ("cell ground"). Applying this initial condition to equation 24, k is found to be ##EQU19## Assuming τ₁ =RC₁, where R=R_(S) +R_(B), then the solution to the initial-value problem for φ₁ is: ##EQU20## Equation 26 describes the residual voltage found on a cell at the end of φ₁.

Assuming V_(G) =0 and V₁ =1, the solution for cell response to an external shock pulse is ##EQU21##

We may now determine optimal durations for φ₁ according to criteria for desired cell response. One such design role or criterion is that the φ₁ duration is equal to the time required for the external defibrillator shock pulse to bring the cell response to its maximum possible level. To determine this duration, equation 27 is differentiated and the resulting equation 27B is set to zero. Equation 27B is then solved for the time t, which represents shock pulse duration required to maximize cardiac cell response. ##EQU22## Solving for t, the optimal duration dφ₁ for a monophasic shock pulse or φ₁ of a biphasic shock pulse is found to be ##EQU23## where "ln" represents the logarithm to the base e, the natural logarithm.

For φ₂, an analysis almost identical to equations 20 through 27 above is derived. The differences are two-fold. First, a biphasic waveform reverses the flow of current through the myocardium during φ₂. Reversing the flow of current in the circuit model changes the sign on the current. The sign changes on the right hand side of equation 23.

The second difference is the step taken to incorporate an independent φ₂ into the charge burping model. Therefore, the φ₂ ODE incorporates the C₂ capacitor set and their associated leading-edge voltage, V₂, for the φ₂ portion of the pulse. Then τ₂ represents the φ₂ time constant; τ₂ =RC₂, and V_(S) =-V₂ e^(-t/)τ.sbsp.2. Equation 23 now becomes: ##EQU24##

Equation 29 is again a first-order linear ODE. In a similar manner, its general solution is determined to be: ##EQU25## To determine the constant of integration k, the value of V_(M2) at the end of φ₁ is

    V.sub.M2 (0)=V.sub.M1 (d.sub.φ1)=V.sub.φ1,         (31)

where d.sub.φ1 is the overall time of discharge for φ₁ and V.sub.φ1 is the voltage left on the cell at the end of φ₁. Applying the initial condition to equation 30 and solving for k: ##EQU26## The solution to the initial-value problem for φ₂ is ##EQU27##

Equation 33 provides a means to calculate the residual membrane potential at the end of φ₂ for the cells that were not stimulated by φ₁. Setting Equation 33 equal to zero, we solve for t, thereby determining the duration of φ₂, denoted dφ₂, such that V_(M2) (dφ₂)=0. By designing φ₂ with a duration dφ₂, the biphasic shock pulse removes the residual change placed on a cell by φ₁. We determine d φ₂ to be: ##EQU28##

From the equations above, an optimal monophasic or biphasic defibrillation waveform may be calculated for an external defibrillator.

As an example, an external defibrillator may be designed as set forth below. Assume a monophasic truncated exponential shock pulse, a 200 μF capacitor, so that τ₁ =R·(200 μF). Suppose also that the external defibrillator is designed to apply the maximal cardiac cell response design rule (equation 27C) to determine the duration of the discharge. Suppose further that the human cardiac cell time constant is estimated to be 3±1 ms. Further assume that the external defibrillator energy source comprises five 1000 μF capacitors in series to implement a 200 μF capacitor bank. If each capacitor is charged to 400V, for a total of 2000V for the leading-edge voltage, this represents 400J of stored energy. The transchest elements are estimated at: 82% current through the thoracic cage; 14% through the chest wall and lungs in parallel; and 4% of applied current through the lung in series with the heart. Then the membrane resistance coefficient Ω_(M) =5.9, and the system resistance coefficient Ω_(S) =2.3. Then the table below illustrates the application of the design rule as the overall chest resistance ranges from 25 Ω to 200 Ω:

    ______________________________________     R(Ω)               τ.sub.1                      d(φ.sub.1)                                   V.sub.final                                        E.sub.delivered     ______________________________________      25        5.2   5.05          757 343      50       10.2   6.90         1017 297      75       15.2   8.15         1170 263     100       20.2   9.10         1275 238     125       25.2   9.90         1350 216     150       30.2   10.55        1410 201     175       35.2   11.15        1457 186     200       40.2   11.65        1497 176     ______________________________________

It should be noted and understood that the design of φ₂ is independent from φ₁. To design φ₂, the only information necessary from φ₁ is where the cell response was left when φ₁ was truncated. Additionally, φ₂ need not use the same or similar circuitry as that used for φ₁. For example, φ may use circuitry as illustrated in FIG. 4 where φ₂ may use circuitry illustrated in FIG. 5a, or vice-versa. The corresponding design rules for a φ₁ circuitry may be used in conjunction with the design rules for a φ₂ circuitry, regardless of the specific circuitry used to implement each phase of a monophasic or biphasic shock pulse.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed:
 1. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 2. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillation circuit involves using a circuit having at least one defibrillation system resistance component.
 3. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one chest wall resistance component.
 4. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one thoracic cage resistance component.
 5. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one lung series resistance component.
 6. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one lung parallel resistance component.
 7. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having a chest wall resistance component, a thoracic cage resistance component and at least one lung resistance component.
 8. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one lung parallel resistance component connected in parallel with the heart component.
 9. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one thoracic cage resistance component connected in parallel with the heart component.
 10. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillation circuit involves using a circuit having first and second capacitors.
 11. The method as in claim 10 wherein the first and second capacitors are arranged in parallel and have opposite polarity.
 12. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having at least one lung parallel resistance component and at least one thoracic cage resistance component connected in parallel with the heart component.
 13. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillation circuit involves using a circuit having a capacitor and an inductor serially connected.
 14. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillation circuit involves using a circuit having a first capacitor and a first inductor serially connected and a second capacitor and a second inductor serially connected, with the first capacitor and the first inductor being connected in parallel relative to the second capacitor and the second inductor.
 15. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of the cardiac cell component of the patient involves using a circuit having at least one cell membrane resistive component.
 16. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of the cardiac cell component of the patient involves using a circuit having at least one cell membrane capacitance component.
 17. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit further comprising at least one of a first lung component, a thoracic cage component, a second lung component.
 18. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient involves using a circuit having a chest wall resistive component and a first lung component serially connected with the heart component, and both a thoracic cage resistive component and a second lung resistive component connected in parallel with the heart component.
 19. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein in the computing step, the shock pulse is a monophasic shock pulse and the computing step further includes:determining the monophasic shock pulse with a transchest forcing function equation.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of determining the monophasic shock pulse includes the step of finding a solution to the transchest forcing function representative of a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the external defibrillation shock.
 21. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of determining the monophasic shock pulse comprises determining a capacitive discharge shock pulse.
 22. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of determining the monophasic shock pulse comprises determining a damped sine wave shock pulse.
 23. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of determining the monophasic shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the monophasic shock pulse, the cell response based on the transchest forcing function equation; and determining an optimal pulse duration of the monophasic shock pulse.
 24. The method of claim 23 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering the monophasic shock pulse.
 25. The method of claim 23 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering the monophasic shock pulse.
 26. The method of claim 23 wherein the optimal pulse duration of the monophasic shock pulse is equal to the time required for the external defibrillator shock pulse to maximize the cardiac cell response to the monophasic shock pulse.
 27. The method of claim 19 wherein the transchest forcing function represented by V is ##EQU29## where, V_(S) represents a forcing function incorporating a model of a defibrillation circuit and a shock pulse,V_(M) represents a cell membrane voltage, Ω_(S) represents a system impedance incorporating at least one of a chest wall resistance component, a lung resistance component, a defibrillation circuit resistance component, a heart resistance component, a lung parallel resistance component, and a thoracic cage resistance component, and Ω_(M) represents a cell membrane impedance.
 28. The method of claim 27 wherein V_(S) represents a defibrillation circuit that implements a shock pulse and includes a monophasic time-truncated capacitive discharge circuit.
 29. The method of claim 27 wherein the defibrillation circuit model is represented by V_(S) and V_(S) is

    V.sub.S =V.sub.1 e.sup.-t/τ.sbsp.1,

with V₁ defining a leading edge voltage for the first phase shock pulse and where,

    τ.sub.1 =RC.sub.1,

R represents a defibrillation circuit impedance component, andC₁ represents a defibrillation circuit capacitive component.
 30. The method of claim 27 wherein V_(S) represents a defibrillation circuit that implements a shock pulse and includes a monophasic damped sine wave circuit.
 31. The method of claim 30 wherein V_(S) equals ##EQU30## wherein V1 is the voltage on a charged capacitor C1,

    τ.sub.C1 =RC1 and τ.sub.L1 =L1/R,

where L1 represents an inductive component of the defibrillation circuit model, C1 represents a capacitive component of the defibrillation circuit model, and R represents impedance.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein R equals R_(S) +R_(B),where R_(S) represents a system impedance including at least one of a defibrillation circuit model impedance and an electrode impedance, and where R_(B) represents a body impedance including at least one of a thoracic cage impedance, a chest wall impedance, a lung series impedance, a lung parallel impedance, and a heart impedance.
 33. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein in the computing step, the shock pulse is a biphasic shock pulse and the computing step further includes:determining the biphasic shock pulse with a transchest forcing function equation.
 34. The method of claim 33 wherein the step of determining the biphasic shock pulse includes the step of finding a solution to the transchest forcing function representative of a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the external defibrillation shock.
 35. The method of claim 33 wherein the step of designing a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse is independent from the step of designing a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 36. The method of claim 33 wherein the first phase of the biphasic shock pulse is determined with a quantitative model of a first defibrillator circuit and the second phase of the biphasic shock pulse is determined with a quantitative model of a second defibrillator circuit different than the quantitative model of the first defibrillator circuit.
 37. The method of claim 33 wherein the step of determining the biphasic shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the biphasic shock pulse, the cell response based on the transchest forcing function equation; and determining an optimal pulse duration of the biphasic shock pulse.
 38. The method of claim 37 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 39. The method of claim 37 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 40. The method of claim 37 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 41. The method of claim 37 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 42. The method of claim 37 wherein the step of determining the optimal duration of a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse is based on the time required for the external defibrillator shock pulse to maximize the cardiac cell response to the first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 43. The method as claimed in claim 33 wherein determining the biphasic shock pulse further includes:determining a first phase of the shock pulse with a first transchest forcing function equation; determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation.
 44. The method of claim 43 wherein a solution of the first and second transchest forcing function represents a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the external defibrillation shock.
 45. The method of claim 43 wherein the step of determining the first phase of the shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the first phase, the cell response based on the first transchest forcing function equation; and determining an optimal pulse duration of the first phase of the shock pulse.
 46. The method of claim 43 wherein the first phase of the shock pulse is a monophasic shock pulse.
 47. The method of claim 43 wherein the first phase of the shock pulse is a biphasic shock pulse.
 48. The method of claim 43 wherein the step of determining the first phase of the shock pulse includes using at least one of a capacitive discharge shock pulse and a damped sine wave discharge shock pulse.
 49. The method of claim 48 wherein the step of determining the second phase of the shock pulse includes using at least one of a capacitive discharge shock pulse and a damped sine wave discharge shock pulse.
 50. The method of claim 45 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 51. The method of claim 45 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 52. The method of claim 43 wherein determining the second phase of the shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the second phase of the shock pulse, wherein the cell response is based on the second transchest forcing function equation; determining an optimal pulse duration of the second phase of the shock pulse.
 53. The method of claim 52 wherein the optimal pulse duration of the second phase shock pulse is dependent upon a residual membrane potential on a cardiac cell that was not stimulated by the first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 54. The method of claim 52 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 55. The method of claim 52 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 56. The method as in claim 1 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a patient is carried out with a circuit having a chest wall resistive component and a first lung component serially connected with the heart component, and both a thoracic cage resistive component and a second lung resistive component connected in parallel with the heart component.
 57. The method of claim 56 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit includes connecting a first capacitor and a second capacitor connected in parallel.
 58. The method of claim 57 including the step of arranging the first capacitor such that it has an opposite polarity relative to the second capacitor.
 59. The method of claim 56 wherein the step of providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit including connecting a first capacitor and a first inductor in series.
 60. The method of claim 59 including the step of arranging a second capacitor in series with a second inductor.
 61. The method of claim 60 wherein the first capacitor and the first inductor are connected in parallel to the second capacitor and the second inductor.
 62. The method of claim 61 including the step of arranging the first capacitor such that it has a polarity opposite a polarity of the second capacitor.
 63. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative model of a first predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse and of a second predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse including a first phase and a second phase, the first phase of the pulse producing the first predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the first predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and the defibrillator circuit model, and the second phase of the pulse producing the second predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the second predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and the defibrillator circuit model.
 64. The method of claim 63 and further comprising:determining the first phase of the shock pulse and the first predetermined cardiac cell response with a first transchest forcing function equation; and determining the second phase of the shock pulse and the second predetermined cardiac cell response with a second transchest forcing equation.
 65. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model and wherein an optimal pulse duration of the shock pulse is determined based on being equal to the time required to maximize the cardiac cell response to the first phase shock pulse.
 66. A method for determining a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and the defibrillator circuit model, the shock pulse including a first phase and a second phase wherein a pulse duration of the second phase of the shock pulse is dependent on a residual membrane potential on a cardiac cell that was not stimulated by the first phase shock pulse.
 67. The method of claim 66 wherein the step of designing the first phase of the shock pulse is independent of the step of designing the second phase of the shock pulse.
 68. An improved external defibrillation system for producing a biphasic capacitive-discharge defibrillation shock pulse to be delivered through at least two electrodes adapted for placement across a chest of a human patient, the system comprising:means for selectively discharging a first phase of the shock pulse and a second phase of the shock pulse, the means for selectively discharging further comprising:means for controlling the first phase of the shock pulse wherein a predetermined first phase duration and predetermined leading voltage are dependent on and determined by a measured transthoracic impedance measured on the patient between the electrodes; and means for controlling the second phase of the s hock pulse wherein a predetermined second phase duration is dependent on a residual charge on a cardiac cell membrane after the administration of the first phase of the shock pulse, wherein the leading voltage of the second phase of the shock pulse has a voltage of an opposite polarity to a truncated trailing edge voltage of the first phase of the shock pulse.
 69. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse, which when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:determining a first phase of the shock pulse and a second phase of the shock pulse according to a charge burping model of the patient, the model including at least a cardiac cell membrane component; wherein a voltage and a duration of the first phase of the shock pulse is dependent on a transthoracic impedance measured on the patient; and wherein a voltage and a duration of the second phase of the shock pulse is determined independently of the determination of the voltage and duration of the first phase of the shock pulse, and is dependent on a residual cardiac cell voltage on cardiac cells unstimulated by the first phase of the shock pulse.
 70. A method for operating a device connected to at least two electrodes for placement externally on the chest on a human patient to treat myocardial arrhythmia in a heart of the human patient, the method comprising the device implemented steps of:sensing externally a myocardial arrhythmia in the human patient; in response to the myocardial arrhythmia, delivering externally from electrical energy stored in a capacitor system in the device to the electrodes, a truncated defibrillation waveform comprising at least a first electrical pulse and having a predetermined optimum pulse duration and a predetermined leading edge voltage based on a transthoracic impedance of the patient measured externally prior to delivering the stored energy.
 71. The method of claim 70 wherein the step of delivering a waveform from electrical energy stored in the the capacitor system includes using at least one charge storage component and producing a capacitive discharge shock pulse.
 72. The method of claim 71 wherein the step of delivering a waveform from electrical energy stored in the the capacitor system further includes using at least one inductor and producing a damped sine wave shock pulse.
 73. The method of claim 70 wherein the waveform further comprises delivering a second electrical pulse having a predetermined optimal pulse duration dependent on a cardiac cell charge burping model.
 74. The method of claim 73 wherein the optimal pulse duration of the second electrical pulse is dependent on a residual electrical voltage of cardiac cells subject to the first electrical pulse but not stimulated by the first electrical pulse.
 75. The method of claim 73 and further comprising:delivering the first electrical pulse with a first portion of the capacitor system; and delivering the second electrical pulse with a second portion of the capacitor system, wherein the first portion of the capacitor system has a design independent and different from the second portion of the capacitor system.
 76. The method of claim 75 wherein the delivering step further comprises the first portion of the capacitor system producing at least one of a capacitive discharge waveform using a charge storage component and a damped sine waveform using a charge storage component and an inductive component.
 77. The method of claim 76 wherein the delivering step further comprises the second portion of the capacitor system producing at least one of a capacitive discharge waveform using a charge storage component and a damped sine waveform using a charge storage component and an inductive component.
 78. The method of claim 75 wherein the delivering step further comprises the second portion of the capacitor system producing at least one of a capacitive discharge waveform using a charge storage component and a damped sine waveform using a charge storage component and an inductive component.
 79. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring externally a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration and an initial discharging voltage prior to the discharging step based on the externally monitored electrical parameter.
 80. The method of claim 79 wherein the step of monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter comprises the step of monitoring a transthoracic impedance.
 81. The method of claim 79 wherein the step of monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter comprises the step of monitoring a voltage.
 82. The method of claim 79 wherein the step of monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter comprises the step of monitoring a charge.
 83. The method of claim 79 wherein the step of monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter comprises the step of monitoring a current.
 84. The method of claim 79 wherein the discharging step b) comprises a shock pulse and includes a first phase of the shock pulse adapted for defibrillating a cardiac cell and a second phase of the shock pulse adapted for stabilizing a cardiac cell not stimulated by the first phase of the shock pulse.
 85. The method of claim 79 wherein the step of monitoring the transthoracic impedance further includes monitoring an alteration of a magnitude of a clock signal applied to the patient through the electrodes.
 86. The method of claim 79 wherein the discharging step b) comprises a shock pulse and the determining step d) is based on the monitored electrical parameter and based on a predetermined design rule for the duration determination.
 87. The method of claim 86 and further including basing the predetermined design rule on a transthoracic model that represents the time required to maximize the cardiac cell response to the shock pulse during at least one of a monophasic shock pulse and a first phase of a biphasic shock pulse.
 88. The method of claim 86 and further including basing the predetermined design rule on a transthoracic charge burping model that represents the time course of cell membrane potential during a second phase of a transthoracic biphasic shock pulse.
 89. The method of claim 86 wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; determining a monophasic shock pulse with a transchest forcing function equation of the general forcing function.
 90. The method of claim 89 wherein the step of determining the monophasic shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the shock pulse, the cell response based on the general transchest forcing function equation; determining an optimal pulse duration of the monophasic shock pulse.
 91. The method of claim 90 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering the monophasic shock pulse.
 92. The method of claim 90 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering the monophasic shock pulse.
 93. The method of claim 86 wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; determining a first phase of the shock pulse with a first transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function; and determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function.
 94. The method of claim 93 wherein determining the first phase of the shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the first phase of the shock pulse, the cell response based on the first transchest forcing function equation; determining an optimal pulse duration of the first phase of the shock pulse.
 95. The method of claim 94 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering the first phase of the shock pulse.
 96. The method of claim 95 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering the first phase of the shock pulse.
 97. The method of claim 93 wherein determining the second phase of the shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the second phase of the shock pulse, the cell response based on the second transchest forcing function equation; determining an optimal pulse duration of the second phase of the shock pulse.
 98. The method of claim 97 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering the second phase of the shock pulse.
 99. The method of claim 97 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering the second phase of the shock pulse.
 100. The method of claim 86 wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; and determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function.
 101. The method of claim 100 wherein determining the second phase of the shock pulse includes:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the second phase of the shock pulse, the cell response based on the second transchest forcing function equation; determining an optimal pulse duration of the second phase of the shock pulse.
 102. The method of claim 101 and further comprising:determining an optimal capacitor value for delivering the second phase of the shock pulse.
 103. The method of claim 101 and further comprising:determining an optimal inductor value for delivering the second phase of the shock pulse.
 104. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit, having at least one defibrillation system resistance component, for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 105. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component including at least one chest wall resistance component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 106. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component having at least one thoracic cage resistance component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 107. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component having at least one lung series resistance component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 108. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component having at least one lung parallel resistance component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 109. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component having at least one cell membrane resistive component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 110. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component having at least one cell membrane capacitance component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 111. A method for determining a monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function equation and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 112. A method for determining a monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function equation and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model, further including the steps of:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the monophasic shock pulse, the cell response based on the transchest forcing function equation; and determining an optimal pulse duration of the monophasic shock pulse.
 113. A method for determining a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function equation and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 114. A method for determining a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model, wherein the step of designing a second phase of the biphasic shock pulse is independent from the step of designing a first phase of the biphasic shock pulse.
 115. A method for determining a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function equation and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model, and further includes the steps of:determining a response of a cardiac cell to a voltage applied across each cardiac cell during the biphasic shock pulse, the cell response based on the transchest forcing function equation; and determining an optimal pulse duration of the biphasic shock pulse.
 116. A method for determining a biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the biphasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model, and further includes:determining a first phase of the shock pulse with a first transchest forcing function equation; and determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation.
 117. A method for determining a monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient's cardiac cell membranes, including:providing a quantitative model of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient including a chest component, a heart component and a cardiac cell membrane component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the cardiac cell membrane to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of the monophasic transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, wherein the computation is made with a transchest forcing function equation and as a function of the predetermined cardiac cell membrane response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model, wherein the transchest forcing function represented by V is ##EQU31## where, V_(S) represents a forcing function incorporating a model of a defibrillation circuit and a shock pulse, V_(M) represents a cell membrane voltage, Ω_(S) represents a system impedance incorporating at least one of a chest wall resistance component, a lung resistance component, a defibrillation circuit resistance component, a heart resistance component, a lung parallel resistance component, and a thoracic cage resistance component, and Ω_(M) represents a cell membrane impedance.
 118. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source as a shock pulse across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring externally a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration and an initial voltage prior to the discharging step based on the externally monitored electrical parameter and based on a predetermined design rule for duration determination.
 119. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source as a shock pulse across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring externally a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the externally monitored electrical parameter and on a predetermined design rule for the duration determination wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; determining a first phase of the shock pulse with a first transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function; and determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function.
 120. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source as a shock pulse across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring externally a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the externally monitored electrical parameter and on a predetermined design rule for the duration determination wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; and determining a second phase of the shock pulse with a second transchest forcing equation of the general forcing function.
 121. A method for determining a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse which, when applied through electrodes positioned on a patient's torso, will produce a desired response in the patient, including:providing a quantitative mode of a defibrillator circuit for producing the external defibrillation shock pulse; providing a quantitative model of a patient, including a chest component; providing a quantitative description of a predetermined response of the patient to the shock pulse; and computing a quantitative description of a transchest external defibrillation shock pulse that will produce predetermined patient response, wherein the computation is made as a function of the predetermined patient response, the patient model and defibrillator circuit model.
 122. A method for operating a device connected to at least two electrodes for placement on the chest on a human patient to treat myocardial arrhythmia in the human patient, the method comprising the device implemented steps of:sensing a myocardial arrhythmia in the human patient; in response to the myocardial arrhythmia, delivering from electrical energy stored in a capacitor system, having at least one charge storage component and at least one inductive component, in the device to the electrodes, a truncated damped sine wave defibrillation waveform comprising at least a first electrical pulse and having a predetermined optimum pulse duration based on a measured transthoracic impedance of the patient prior to delivering the stored energy.
 123. A method for operating a device connected to at least two electrodes for placement on the chest on a human patient to treat myocardial arrhythmia in the human patient, the method comprising the device implemented steps of:sensing a myocardial arrhythmia in the human patient; in response to the myocardial arrhythmia, delivering from electrical energy stored in a capacitor system in the device to the electrodes, a truncated defibrillation waveform comprising a first electrical pulse and having a predetermined optimum pulse duration based on a measured transthoracic impedance of the patient prior to delivering the stored energy and a second electrical pulse having an predetermined optimal pulse duration dependent on a cardiac cell charge burping model.
 124. The method of claim 123 wherein the optimal pulse duration of the second electrical pulse is dependent on a residual electrical voltage of cardiac cells subject to the first electrical pulse but not stimulated by the first electrical pulse.
 125. The method of claim 123 and further comprising:delivering the first electrical pulse with a first portion of the capacitor system; and delivering the second electrical pulse with a second portion of the capacitor system, wherein the first portion of the capacitor system has a design independent and different from the second portion of the capacitor system.
 126. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring a patient transthoracic impedance prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the monitored transthoracic impedance.
 127. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring a patient dependent electrical parameter, comprising a charge, prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the monitored electrical parameter.
 128. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source across the electrodes for a predetermined duration as a shock pulse including defibrillating a cardiac cell using a first phase of the shock pulse and stabilizing a cardiac cell not stimulated by the first phase of the shock pulse using a second phase of the shock pulse; (c) monitoring a patient dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the monitored electrical parameter.
 129. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source as a shock pulse across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the monitored electrical parameter and on a predetermined design rule for the duration determination.
 130. The method of claim 129 wherein the predetermined design rule is based on a transthoracic model that represents the time required to maximize the cardiac cell response to the shock pulse during at least one of a monophasic shock pulse and a first phase of a biphasic shock pulse.
 131. The method of claim 129 wherein the predetermined design rule is based on a transthoracic charge burping model that represents the time course of cell membrane potential during a second phase of a transthoracic biphasic shock pulse.
 132. The method of claim 129 wherein the predetermined design rule is determined by the following steps:determining a general transchest forcing function equation; and determining a monophasic shock pulse with a transchest forcing function equation of the general forcing function.
 133. A method for applying electrotherapy to a patient through electrodes adapted to be connected externally to the patient, the electrodes being connected to an energy source, the method comprising the steps of:(a) charging the energy source to a predetermined level; (b) discharging the energy source across the electrodes for a predetermined duration; (c) monitoring a patient-dependent electrical parameter prior to the discharging step including monitoring an alteration of a magnitude of a clock signal applied to the patient through the electrodes; and (d) determining the discharging duration prior to the discharging step based on the monitored electrical parameter. 